Today, we gather with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving, but for the Love’s this year is a little different.

Deidra’s mom has had a lifelong dream of watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in person. Every year we go to her house, you can bet the parade is on TV. This year, Deidra and her sister decided to make this dream a reality and have spent the week in NYC. They are having a great time and making a lot of incredible memories.

This year, I find myself in a house with 4 kids taking care of special meals for everyone, washing all of their clothes, cleaning the house, and chasing down a 3 year old, non-stop. It is truly a daunting task (and one the Deidra does effortlessly every day).

In a couple of hours, I will be packing everyone up to be reunited with family (and Deidra) to eat way more food than any 1 person needs, and my to do list is enormous.

That’s when God reminded me of the reason for this day.
Not to celebrate the first Thanksgiving in the new world…but to celebrate the new life that God has given us.

God’s plan for us has always been to live in a perpetual state of gratitude to Him and to those around us.

He pierced the darkness of our world to bring us hope through Savior.
He gave us forgiveness when forgiveness was the last thing on our minds.
He showed us ever enduring love, when we, ourselves, were unloveable.
And He gave us a future, when our own futures were very dim.

Thankfulness is the thing that reminds of us of what we have, but more importantly, who we are.
It is the thing that pushes discontent and dissatisfaction out of our lives to make room for joy.
Thankfulness fills our hearts even if our pockets are empty.
And it shows us that no matter what is happening in our lives, something good already has and always will.

Thankfulness can never be a “once a year” event. It’s impact can be felt throughout our entire lives.

My prayer for you, this day, is not to be overwhelmed by all that you need to accomplish, today, to make it special.

Today, I pray that you see all that is special in your life, so you can truly take time to be thankful.

Mark Love
Lead Pastor